THE TREATMENT OF INSECTS AND FUNGI IN THE UNITED STATES. 201 



give six parts of bluestone to four parts of lime, which will do if 

 the liine is good. Slake the lime, and dissolve the bluestone 

 separately. Both should be cold when they are mixed, and the 

 resultant mixture will be a beautiful blue wash. If mixed hot, 

 a black compound (copper oxide) is produced, which reduces the 

 value of the wash. As to the amount of water, we recommend, 

 for ordinary spraying, 1 lb. of each of the above to ten gallons 

 of mixture, and for winter use 1 lb. of each for four gallons. 



Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate. — This solution is very 

 effectual, but is not as lasting as the Bordeaux mixture. It is a 

 perfect solution, and therefore has no tendency to clog the nozzle 

 (as is the case with the Bordeaux mixture), and can be used on 

 fruit near the picking season and on ornamental plants, which 

 would be disfigured with the lime wash. The usual way of 

 making this wash is to dissolve copper carbonate in ammonia 

 and then dilute. If the carbonate is not fully dissolved before 

 the water is added it cannot be further dissolved, and not only is 

 the carbonate wasted but the fluid will not be up to the standard 

 strength. It is well, therefore, to give the ammonia ample time 

 to act, say over night, before adding the water. The proportions 

 are 1 oz. of the copper carbonate in 10 oz. of ammonia for every 

 ten gallons of spray. Another way of producing the mixture is to 

 mix solutions of bluestone and sal soda, dissolving the carbonate 

 of copper thus produced in ammonia, and diluting with water. 

 The bluestone and the sal soda should be mixed in about the 

 proportion of three to four, after having been dissolved separately 

 in a small quantity of warm water and cooled before mixing. 

 Three ounces of bluestone with four of sal soda and twenty of 

 ammonia is sufficient for twenty gallons of spray. 



Li?ne, Salt, and Sulphur Mixture. — This wash is useful both 

 as an insecticide and a fungicide, but only for winter use on 

 deciduous trees. It is usually made by boiling the sulphur for 

 one hour and a half, with about one-fourth of the lime, in a 

 covered kettle with enough water to cover well ; then the rest of 

 the lime and the salt are added, and the boiling continued half 

 an hour longer. The proportions are about 6 lbs. of lime, 2 of 

 salt, and 3 of sulphur for sixty gallons. 



Besin Soap. — The cheapest insecticide which kills by contact 

 is resin soap. It is for scale insects, and so has good penetrating 

 power. Like all insecticides killing by contact, the effect of the 



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